Exchange between Elisabeth Borne and a disabled woman: the controversy in three questions – Ouest-France

Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne was invited on Tuesday June 7, 2022 on France Bleu to answer questions from listeners. An exchange with a disabled listener made the political class react. Here are three questions to understand the controversy. 1. What happened? Among the listeners invited by France Bleu to ask their questions this Tuesday, Dolores. She called “to find out if the State intended to do something for people who are disabled”, she expressed at first, before detailing her personal situation, with emotion in her voice: “Unfortunately, I I had a very serious accident. I find myself in a wheelchair, I can no longer work. I applied for AAH [Allocation aux adultes handicapés, NDLR] and, insofar as my husband receives €1,810 per month, despite our rent of €1,000 in Nice, I am told that I am not entitled to anything because we exceed the ceilings. In the introduction to her response to Dolores, Elisabeth Borne said she “heard” the emotion of the listener. “As a disabled person, you are entitled to assistance […] which are not at all means-tested”, indicated the Prime Minister, before dropping this sentence: “Then, there is the way in which we can accompany you so that you can, perhaps, resume a professional activity. . Dolorès then replied, in tears, without managing to finish her sentence: “I love it when the Prime Minister says to resume a professional life…”, not preventing the former Minister of Labor from defending her point of view. vue: “I don’t think we should consider that employers should close the door to people in wheelchairs, but perhaps this is not the time to talk about this hypothesis. The Prime Minister finally explained that the impact of the spouse on AHA is a subject under discussion within the government. 2. What are the political reactions? This brief exchange provoked a strong reaction from political representatives, particularly on the left. The Prime Minister “humiliates a woman in a wheelchair”, said Jean-Luc Mélenchon on Twitter. “This is the story of an encounter with a block of ice,” tweeted Olivier Faure, first secretary of the Socialist Party. “On April 15, 2022, Mr. Macron promised to deconjugalize the disabled adult allowance. A month and a half later, Ms. Borne replies to a woman in a wheelchair that she just has to look for work…” reacted Ian Brossat, spokesperson for the Communist Party and deputy mayor of Paris. “Élisabeth Borne, techno in all its splendor: “Are you disabled, Madam? Get back to work!” Deconjugalizing the AAH is simply allowing people with disabilities to get married, to live as a couple, a right to happiness, ”wrote François Ruffin, LFI deputy in the Somme, on Twitter. Marine Le Pen, for her part, denounced the “icy reaction” of the Prime Minister. “If there is one thing that cannot be blamed on Élisabeth Borne, it is a lack of attention, a lack of compassion, a lack of empathy towards our compatriots and in particular the most fragile, ”commented Olivia Grégoire, government spokesperson, questioned after the Council of Ministers, this Wednesday.

3. What does the government plan on deconjugalizing the AAH? During his presidential campaign, Emmanuel Macron was in favor of the deconjugalization of the Disabled Adult Allowance. Taking into account the income of the spouse of the disabled person in the calculation of AAH rights “creates an aberrant situation for people with disabilities”, recognized the re-elected president, on April 15 on Franceinfo. “We are going to move”, he said, without detailing a precise measure. He was until then the only presidential candidate not to have come out in favor of the deconjugalization of the AAH. The proposal was rejected by the National Assembly in October 2021, with the majority voting against it. “We assume the fact of giving more to those who really need it,” justified the Secretary of State for People with Disabilities, Sophie Cluzel. The government then favored a lump-sum allowance of €5,000 on the spouse’s income, i.e. an average gain estimated at €110-120 per month for 140,000 couples. This measure, deemed insufficient by the associations, came into force last January. Exchange between Elisabeth Borne and a disabled woman: the controversy in three questionsEXPAND